At holiday times there are often enticing and bountiful meals, with lots of leftovers. Can your dog share in more than the delicious aromas? That depends—but certainly whatever you share should be about the experience they’ll have of getting a few tasty licks, never in a quantity of food that would add calories or strain their digestive system.
Foods to Never Share with a Dog
Most everyone knows the well-known toxic foods that dogs cannot safely eat even a small amount of: macadamia nuts, grapes, raisins, onions, and real dark chocolate. But there are other foods to be cautious about.
- Fat trimmings from meat like lamb, pork, and beef (or even poultry) is not good for people or dogs, for whom really fatty foods can lead to health issues like obesity and even pancreatitis.
- Fatty skin from chicken or turkey just adds calories and pounds to a dog—and often upsets digestion because these are so rich.
- Any food in a heavy rich sauce with cream, wine, or cheese are way too rich for your pup.
- Spicy food can be really cruel to a dog; by the time a dog realizes that Mexican or Indian food is heavily spiced it will have already burned their tongue. It can even cause burning right through their digestive tract.
Healthy People Foods to Share with Your Pup
- Fish of any kind, especially with the skin on (with salmon being high on the list), are rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
- Vegetables of any kind, cooked or raw, but not sauced or buttered. Just as we always want children to “eat their veggies,” the same is true for our dogs. Eating vegetables gives a dog some vitamins (depending on how it has been cooked), but just as important is the dietary fiber and, in most cases, a low-calorie feeling of fullness.
- Leftover tossed salad, as long as it doesn’t have onions, is delightful for most dogs, although some can be picky about the kind of dressing (and yes, you probably need dressing or that “rabbit food” isn’t very appealing to your pup).
Tips to Prevent Overdoing Table-Scrap Sharing
- Is your dog putting on weight? Be mindful of amounts you’re sharing. Make sure you aren’t being too generous with your leftovers.
- Limit after-meal sharing to just licking the nearly empty plates.
- Be thoughtful about actually measuring your dog’s own food—and reduce his calorie intake based on whether you have a heavy hand with leftovers.
- If your dog has begun begging at the table in anticipation of being given some scraps in the kitchen after you’ve finished, then post-meal sharing has to be stopped—at least for a little while.
Good Canine Table Manners Come from Sharing Table Scraps
- It’s fine to let your dogs lick your plates when you’re finished eating, but never feed anything from the table. This is how I’ve trained my dogs forever to lie quietly in the dining room while people are eating.
- By waiting until you take your dishes back into the kitchen before offering leftovers, you teach your dogs to lie quietly during your meal. My dog Maisie actually watches for when I put down my knife and fork, knowing that is the signal I’ve finished eating and it’s “her turn.”
- Once in the kitchen after you finish a meal, remove most everything left on the plates and let the dogs lick the surfaces, giving them the sensation of having a treat without the calories.
- If you have fine china you are not going to put through the high heat of a dishwasher afterward, then do put some actual scraps into the dog’s bowl.
Food is NOT Love
Just keep a perspective that the most important thing in the world to your pup is their relationship with you. They may drool when they smell the roast turkey, but it is your company and affection and attention that feeds your dog’s soul. Don’t go overboard on the food, but do overdo the rest as much as you’d like!!
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About the Author
Tracie Hotchner is a nationally acclaimed pet wellness advocate, who wrote THE DOG BIBLE: Everything Your Dog Wants You to Know and THE CAT BIBLE: Everything Your Cat Expects You to Know. She is recognized as the premiere voice for pets and their people on pet talk radio. She continues to produce and host her own Gracie® Award winning NPR show DOG TALK® (and Kitties, Too!) from Peconic Public Broadcasting in the Hamptons after 9 consecutive years and over 500 shows. She produced and hosted her own live, call-in show CAT CHAT® on the Martha Stewart channel of Sirius/XM for over 7 years until the channel was canceled, when Tracie created her own Radio Pet Lady Network where she produces and co-hosts CAT CHAT® along with 10 other pet talk radio podcasts with top veterinarians and pet experts.
Tracie also is the Founder and Director of the annual NY Dog Film Festival, a philanthropic celebration of the love between dogs and their people. Short canine-themed documentary, animated and narrative films from around the world create a shared audience experience that inspires, educates and entertains. With a New York City premiere every October, the Festival then travels around the country, partnering in each location with an outstanding animal welfare organization that brings adoptable dogs to the theater and receives half the proceeds of the ticket sales. Halo was a Founding Sponsor in 2015 and donated 10,000 meals to the beneficiary shelters in every destination around the country in 2016.
Tracie lives in Bennington, Vermont – where the Radio Pet Lady Network studio is based – and where her 12 acres are well-used by her 2-girl pack of lovely, lively rescued Weimaraners, Maisie and Wanda.